Province ramps up rabies control practices in Perth County

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources plans to ramp up rabies prevention practices in Perth County after another cow tested positive for the disease last week.

On Friday, March 17, it was confirmeda young heifer on a dairy farm in Elma Ward near Listowel had contracted the disease, likely after coming into contact with a rabid wild animal such as a skunk or fox.

It was the sixth animal in the area to test positive for the Arctic fox strain of rabies since December 2015.

• Calf tests positive for rabies on beef farm in Perth County
• Second calf tests positive for rabies on farm in Perth County

After the first few cases were identified, the ministry baited the area within 50 km of the affected animals by dropping small packets of rabies vaccine 20 packets per sq. km.

Now that more cases have been identified, the ministry plans to step up its game and thickly bait an area within 8 km of the latest case 300 packets per sq. km.

"We were originally planning to do that this week, but we've had some aircraft and weather challenges," said Chris Davies, manager of wildlife, research and monitoring with the MNR. "So, we'll probably be down doing aerial baiting in that area the first week of April, weather permitting."

If any new cases are identified, Davies said the ministry will do additional baiting over the course of the summer. They also plan to bait within 50 km of all confirmed cases in August and September.